


Arcade

by mouna



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Hogwarts Sixth Year, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slow Burn, Thestrals (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:07:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28798110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mouna/pseuds/mouna
Summary: In which Harry decides to stop Draco from killing Dumbledore on the tower and they make their escape on a thestral.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Drarry fic, so please don't expect too much. It was intended to be a one-shot so I'll post it as that for now, but I actually have a second chapter already written down. If anyone is interested in seeing this little piece of my mind be continued let me know, any kind of feedback is welcome!  
> And for now I hope you'll enjoy reading it :))

So the only thing Harry Potter could do was to stare. To stare and wait for Draco Malfoy to speak the words - the words that would undoubtedly enable his shaking wand to end Albus Dumbledores life.   
Screw this rubbish, Harry thought as he pulled off his invisibility cloak and stormed out of the shadow.  
Everyones eyes grew wide in surprise and shock. And in Dracos case; fear. Sheer and utter fear.   
Just when Dumbledore made a move to cover Harry up behind him the young man jumped forward to grip Draco by his collar. Harrys eyes daggered into Dracos, acid green staring into stormy gray. He made use of all the built up adrenaline in his body and pulled Draco towards the edge of the tower. Just when a warning „Potter...“ escaped Dracos lips Harry tightened his grip on him with both of his hands. The Boy Who Lived furrowed his eyebrows in full concentration and drew both himself and Malfoy over the edge.   
As they were falling Dumbledore was already fighting off the Death Eaters.   
Just when Harry thought he might have pulled both of them to fall to their death their tumbling came to an abrupt halt when they landed roughly on some enormous moving object. Once Harrys eyes were able to focus on what was happening he realized that a huge thestral caught them on its back.   
Harry found himself caught in between the thestrals moving back and Dracos full weight laying on top of him. At some point during their fall Draco must have gripped Harrys arms, because now he had a death grip on them, as the thestral was flying them away from the battleground.  
„Get off me, Malfoy! Careful!“  
After Draco stared at him for a few seconds the pale boy started maneuvering himself to sit properly on the thestrals rear back. When Harry felt that Draco wasn’t supporting his weight on him anymore he now somehow managed to get up himself, having to put his back towards Draco, in favor of seeing where the thestral was headed. He leaned forward and whispered into the thestrals ear that it should keep flying north over the forests. As the thestral reared up a bit in agreement, Draco gripped Harrys sides in terror.  
„Let me down! Tell it to land! If you care for your life, Potter, you will get us down! NOW!“  
Harry turned his head around in anger: „If you dare say one more word, Malfoy, I'll push you down myself.“  
With that the boy behind him stilled, still not letting go of Harrys hips though, as if making clear that if he was to fall Harry was going to fall with him.   
Draco realized with horror that he must have lost his wand during their fall, or maybe he dropped it when he saw Harry appear next to Dumbledore. It was only now that anger washed over Draco. Of course it was stupid Potter to ruin his task for him. Stupid Potter who stopped him from killing Dumbledore. Stupid Potter making him lose his wand. Stupid Potter who gave him an escape from doing what he was more afraid of than anything ever before...   
Suddenly Harry felt Dracos hands releasing their grip on his waist only to sling forward instead, hugging his arms around the other boys stomach. Harrys whole body filled with tension by the unexpected and unfamiliar touch, but he was too focused on leading the thestral than to be able to concentrate.   
A weight dropped against his shoulder when Draco let his head rest against him and Harry could feel that he boy was shaking although he wasn’t sure if it was because he was afraid, cold or something entirely different. Then he felt the other boy sobbing. Harry tried to remain breathing steadily. This was Malfoy, he reminded himself. Malfoy crying had to be just another one of his tricks and manipulations. Harry mustn't let himself be fooled into feeling actual sympathy for Draco, let alone trying to find out what the hell was wrong with him, or stop him from bloody crying on his shoulder.   
Thankfully he soon spotted the place he was looking for from the beginning. There it was, a small clearing within the forest, approximately 50 kilometers away from Hogwarts, way up north, where the wild forest covered the land. He returned his attention to the thestral, which listened to the name Shadowfax as Hagrid once told him, pointing out the white strand of mane that covered his white shoulder.   
Malfoy had calmed down a bit by now, or at least he wasn't shaking against Harry anymore, merely his arms were still wrapped around Harrys waist, but with no force.   
Shadowfax started lowering towards the ground in circles until his hooves finally hit the high grass of the clearing.  
„Let go of me, Malfoy, we need to get off him now, he's tired.“  
Draco made a confused sound, mumbling something about wondering who Harry meant by ‚he‘, as if taken out of deep thoughts. But shortly after he let his hands slip away from Harry and threw his leg over the hindquarters of the thestral, landing smoothly on the ground. Harry was quick to follow. When his feet hit the ground he finally felt able to breath normally again.   
Shadowfax moved in a slow walk towards the edge of the clearing, laying down under a large tree. It was only now that Harry turned around to see Draco sitting on the grass, his knees pulled up towards his chest and his head resting on his crossed arms.   
„Hey!“ Harry shouted, his anger flooding back, but Draco made no visible move.   
Harry stalked towards the cowering blonde figure on the ground until he stood right in front of him. He felt his wand in his pocket but decided to leave it there, there would be no need for it since he saw Draco dropping his own wand back at the astronomy tower when he saw Harry stepping out of the shadows.  
„Malfoy!“ Harry demanded Dracos attention once again.  
This time Dracos head moved up a little so Harry could see his face. His eyes were looking up at Harry wide and confused and... they were red from tears. Harry thought he must have imagined Draco crying when they fled the tower, he thought his brain played a trick on him. But there was no denying it now. Dracos expression made Harrys anger crumble and when he didn't say anything suddenly Harry didn't know what to say either.   
Harry felt his legs go weak as the adrenaline left his body. He let out a shaky breath and let himself down to the ground. He saw Malfoy lowering his head into his arms again.   
So Harry just sat there. In front of his supposed enemy. In front of his known arch nemesis in fact. In front of Malfoy. In front of Draco? He'd never seen the blonde arrogant and proud Slytherin like this. Somehow broken and vulnerable. His skin look even more pale than Harry remembered and his normally ridiculously neat hair was standing up in all kind of directions in a way that almost could be called curly. Wait, why was he, Harry, even looking at Malfoy? What did he care if Malfoys hair curled? Just like an hour ago Draco was threatening Dumbledores life and Harry was sure if he hadn't done something to stop him Draco would have attempted to kill the headmaster. What Harry didn't know the answer to was as to why exactly Draco would do something so terrible and stupid. Sure, Harry knew Draco disrespected Dumbledore for accepting muggleborns at Hogwarts, sure, Draco was on the everlasting mission to earn his fathers respect, but would even Lucius Malfoy go as far as ordering his own son to commit murder? No, it must be something else. After keeping a close eye on Malfoy over the past few months Harry had his suspicions. Suspicions that Malfoy was aiming to become a Death Eater and serve Voldemort. But todays events just now made it real. Draco must have already committed to serving the Dark Lord truely. But then why was he crying? Why wasn't he fighting Harry for interfering his mission, why didn't he do something instead of letting himself just be dragged along by Harry? Harry had no answer to that just yet. And he couldn't let himself think about it anymore, he could be glad he didn't have to deal with a fighting Malfoy, right now he had more important things at hand. Understanding Malfoy would have to wait.  
One of said problems was the fact that they were out in the wild on their own, the sun long gone, with nothing to help them but Harrys wand and Shadowfax the thestral (who was already snoring loudly from under the tree).  
Malfoy didn't seem to be of help any time soon either, obviously defeated.   
„Shit!“ Harry suddenly screamed.   
„Shit! Shit! Shit!“ he shouted out loud, punching his fists into the ground, which earned him an angry growl from the sleepy thestral.  
Malfoys eyes appeared again at Harrys outbreak, their piercing grey peeking out from under his long lashes, but he remained quiet.  
„We're here because of you Malfoy, so why are you looking at me like that! What were you doing up there, huh! If I hadn't stopped you, would Dumbledore be dead by now? Is that what you want? It can't be Malfoy, it can't be...“  
Now Harry was the one to burry his face in his hands, shaking his head in disbelief of this whole terrible situation.   
„No.“  
Harrys head shot up again.   
„What did you say?“  
Malfoy still looked at him, his expression meaningless. „I said ‚no‘, Potter.“  
„‘No‘, what?“

„No, I didn't fucking want to kill him. But I had to. I mean I have to. You can’t understand. Nobody could ever understand.“ The last part came out shaky.   
Harry didn’t let himself consider Malfoys words, instead he said: „Doesn’t really matter now. We should prepare something to spend the night, it will get freezingly cold soon, and I’m not interested in waking up dead tomorrow.“  
„You can’t wake up when you’re dead, Potter.“  
„Oh, just shut up, would you!“  
And with that Harry got up on his feet walking towards the place where Shadowfax laid. He wanted to thank the Thestral for rescuing them but since he was still snoring Harry decided he didn’t want to wake him up again.   
Harry finally took his wand in hand and started enchanting larger pieces of wood to slowly build up a small circular fence around the area around the tree, Shadowfax and himself. When there was enough wood stacked up so the wall was around 3 meters high (enough so Shadowfax could stand up if he needed to) Harry used ‚Wingardium Leviosa‘ to summon some huge green tree branches to work as a roof.   
Quite satisfied with the little cabin he created he put his wand away and started collecting some moss to stuff out the ground inside.   
When he was done the moon was already high on the midnight sky and the temperature must have already been near freezing point. Thanks to Shadowfax body heat the cabin would do a decent job of keeping the three of them warm or at least keeping them from freezing to death.  
Harry never thought that there‘d be a day when he’d be thankful for having a creature sleeping next to him that looked like a dying horse with wings attached to it but there it was. He didn’t want to risk waking Shadowfax so he went outside to call Draco and took a few steps until he realized Malfoy wasn’t there anymore.   
In the middle of the clearing he stopped and looked around. But even if Malfoy had still been there, there was no point in looking for him now, everything was already pitch black.

Harry sighed and walked back to where he heard Shadowfax snoring. When he entered the hide again his heart almost jumped out of his ribcage when two pale hands wrapped around his mouth from behind.   
„Didn’t think I was gone, did you, Potter?“, Draco said, removing his hands from Harrys face.  
„No worries“, Malfoy continued as Harry didn’t seem to answer his question and instead glared at him as if expecting an attack. „I just didn’t want to wake the bloody Pegasus“, he added smirking.   
Well at least someone had regained their confidence, Harry thought. „Shadowfax is not a Pegasus. And he saved our lives if you didn’t notice.“  
„Yeah right, saved my life after you almost killed both of us.“  
Harry bit down on his tongue, not wanting to argue in this situation.   
„Anyways, Potter, here, do with it what you will“, Draco said and pointed towards a considerable amount of what appeared to be wild raspberries and a pile of apples.  
Harry just frowned.  
„Hm“ he said then, taking one of the berries between his fingers, eyeing it closely and hoping he could differ between a poisoned berry and a normal one. It did seem legit so he decided to just go for it and eat it. And it was surprisingly delicious. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling. And wouldn’t it have been as dark he would have noticed Draco was smiling too as he saw how Harry loaded a big handful of the berries into his mouth.   
„Well then“ Harry said „Don’t you even try doing something funny like stealing my wand while I’m sleeping.“  
And without even looking at Draco again he lay down on the soft moss.  
Just when he had his eyes closed he heard Draco shuffling around.  
„Po-… H… Harry. There’s no space for me.“  
Harry growled a bit but moved so he was laying closer to Shadowfax so Draco could lie down next to Harry if he wanted to. The next thing he felt was Dracos arm accidentally brush against his back as the blonde boy lay down next to Harry. Harry had his back towards Draco, his eyes towards Shadowfax who was still snoring slightly. Draco must have been laying on his back facing the ceiling of branches above them.   
It was a few quiet minutes later when Harry felt Draco beginning to shake next to him. Harry actually had a hard time trying not to shiver too, because it was even colder than he had expected. Lucky for him Shadofax‘ heat was warming him a bit. One thing was sure, he wouldn’t be able to sleep for even a second if Draco didn’t stop shaking as heavily as he did. Harry moved another inch closer to the sleeping thestral and rolled around so he was looking at Draco now.   
„You need to come closer Malfoy, if you don’t fancy the thought of freezing to death that is.“  
Malfoy seemed to consider this suggestion briefly and Harry almost thought Draco would rather freeze to death than willingly coming within touching distance to him.   
But then Draco decided he’d rather not die here, in the middle of nowhere next to the worlds damn wannabe savior Harry Potter. So the skinny figure moved until he was in a similar position as Harry, laying on his side, his back to Harrys front as Harrys back was pointed to Shadowfax.   
What a pathetic little pile of creatures they had to look like, Harry was thinking. To his displeasure Draco still didn’t stop shaking, now even more annoyingly since his back was almost pressed against Harrys chest. Harry sighed and after a short moment of hesitation he put his upper arm around Draco, drawing him closer.   
To Harrys surprise Draco didn’t even so much as to make a noise of protest, but the reason for the lack of protest seemed shockingly obvious - Dracos body felt cold as ice against Harry, and the shaking hadn’t stopped yet. Harry just kept holding onto him, hoping his own body heat could give Draco a little bit of warmth. But to Harrys great displeasure his own body was starting to tremble too by now, even their combined body heat wasn’t enough to withstand the crucial cold.   
Shadowfax must have noticed Harry shaking against him because he let out an unamused yawn, turning his head towards the two freezing boys, his white eyes glowing scarily in the dark. The thestral sighed, closed his eyes again and rested his head back on the ground while spreading one of his wings over both Draco and Harry just like a thick black leathery blanket.  
This actually was more of help than one might have thought, Harrys body soon warmed up and even Dracos body felt warm against Harrys chest by now, but for some reason the other boy was still trembling.   
„Would you please try to stop shivering sp hard? I can’t sleep like that“ Harry grumbled against Dracos neck.   
He heard Draco take in a sharp breath breathing in and out deep a few times before he answered;  
„I… I’m sorry P… Harry… I’m sorry“  
Why would Draco get all whiny about Harry asking him to stop shivering?  
„You don’t need to be sorry for being cold, just try to relax - your body is already warming up“  
„I… I wasn’t talking about that“   
„Then what are you sorry for?“  
It felt like Draco was about to say something but couldn’t get himself to. But Harry already understood.   
„Oh“ was all Harry could say.   
So Draco wasn’t cold, not really. He was shaking because he was sorry for what he had been about to do, for all the things he had done already. Harry couldn’t help but to grip Draco a bit tighter.  
A part of him, the angry little 11-year-old Harry Potter, couldn’t believe what his grown up self was doing, couldn’t believe that the person he was now would consider neglecting Malfoys countless sins in the past. But that’s all Harry wanted right now. He wanted there to be peace. He wanted to bring out the good in people and if someone like Malfoy had the courage to apologize despite their rivalry Harry just wasn’t the one to not try and make Draco see that being on the good side was worth fighting for.   
„Don’t worry about it now. You’re here. We’re safe. Dumbledore is safe. We just need to get some sleep now, forget about the rest.“  
Finally Dracos breathing began to slow down and his body also calmed from ist previous shivers. Harry was actually beginning to feel comfortable and warm, with Shadowfax‘ protective wing still being on top of them. He rested his head against Dracos neck and suddenly a realization hit him.   
Up until now he didn’t even notice the smell but there it was. He inhaled again purposefully against Dracos hair.   
No.   
Couldn’t be.   
Harry actually remembered that scent. Not just a faint resemblance but this exact shade of minty rose petals with a hint of green apples and something else that had been undefineable to Harry until now. He had never been as close or attentive enough as to recognize what Malfoy smelled like before. But there it was.   
Just the same exact fragrance he smelled when he sensed the Amortentia potion for the first time in class a year ago.   
Hermione said the potion smelled different for each individual, depending on who they are attracted to the most. Harry just brushed it off, thinking that the potion just smelled nice to him without any meaning, because he didn’t fancy anyone like that. But there it was, unmistakably the resemblance of the scent of none other than Draco bloody Malfoy.   
Great, as if this situation wasn’t awkward enough already. Harry forced his eyes to shut and his mind to stop thinking about what this meant. Foolish enough he also tried to hold his breath so maybe he could pretend he never discovered this unsettling truth. Soon enough he had to breathe again though so he gave up on it.   
Draco wasn’t noticeably moving anymore and his breath was steady meaning he was probably sleeping already. His body felt decently warm now so Harry could surely take his arm away from him.  
Harry turned around to get more comfortable, him being the one laying on his back facing the ceiling now.   
It was somehow beautiful how the stars and the moon shone through the empty spaces between the leaves and branches above them.   
Suddenly Draco moved, turning to face Harry but his eyes were closed. Sleeping Draco moved impossibly closer and now draped his arm over Harrys stomach unconsciously.   
Harry gazed down at Dracos hair, his head laying on Harrys chest. The blonde curly strands were lit by the rays of moonlight peaking through the ceiling and Harry couldn’t help but notice it had something angelic to it.   
Another thought that came into Harrys mind was how innocent Draco looked in his sleep. He looked nothing like the sarcastic mean git that Harry used to despise. With his face softened like this he looked what could be called nothing but beautiful to Harry.   
Harry again closed his eyes, trying to give his thoughts a rest. And to ensure they wouldn’t become cold while sleeping again, he wrapped his arms around Draco under the blanket of their sleeping saviors wing.   
Tonight the Boy Who Lived had dreams filled with a heard of wild thestrals roaming through the night sky while a hint of rose petals and green apples filled his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is for the two kind souls who commented on the first chapter of the story, I hope you will enjoy the second one as well :) I'm sorry it took me so long until I found the courage to upload it.

Harry was woken up by bright rays of sunshine breaking through the roof. He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness. When he could see clearly again he noticed that Draco was still sound asleep in the same position Harry noticed when he driftet into sleep last night. By carefully lifting Dracos head off his chest, trying not to wake the blonde boy just yet, Harry attempted to get up. Doing so he accidentally nodged his elbow into Shadowfax‘ side who blinked awake and turned his head to Harry, his remarkable white eyes looking at him somehow deeply. The huge thestral withdrew his wing from both of the wizards, folding it back up. Harry managed to sit up to his knees without waking Draco who still slept sincerely.  
„Listen, Shadowfax“ Harry began and put a hand on the thestrals neck in sympathy „I don’t know why you decided to safe us last night but I am really grateful about it. Thank you. If possible I would be glad if you could stay with us for a while longer, we will need your help out here.“  
After another intense stare at Harry from these intriguing white eyes the thestral growled in agreement.  
„Here, eat these, please“ Harry offered the apples Draco collected yesterday to Shadowfax. With an appreciative grunt the thestral got up to his feet and started feeding on the pile of apples.  
Harry felt so well rested that he almost couldn’t believe what happened yesterday on the astronomy tower. He hadn’t slept that good in ages, not a single nightmare disturbing his dreams.  
Now it was time to face reality though which consisted of him being stuck out here with Draco Malfoy out of all people with nothing but his wand and a thestral for help. Back at Hogwarts Dumbledore and Snape must have defeated the Death Eaters by now, still Harry couldn’t be sure it was safe to return just yet. There still was the terrifying possibility that the Death Eaters had won and were now just waiting to have their way with Harry and possibly Malfoy too, who must appear to be a failure in their eyes by now.  
A yawn disturbed Harrys thoughts.  
Malfoy rubbed his hands over his eyes, frowning as he took them away. Only now he seemed to remember where he was. He looked up at the thestral, who appeared to be a good 2 meters high now in full lighting, wings not included. Dracos eyes went a bit wide and he quickly made an escape through the entry of the cabin.  
„Don’t take it personal“, Harry addressed Shadowfax „He’s just not a big fan of any magical creature bigger than a house elf.“  
But since the thestral couldn’t seem to care less about Dracos departure Harry left him to finish the rest of the apples alone and instead followed Draco outside.  
He didn’t see him at first but when he looked behind their little tent into the woods he saw Malfoys back.  
Oh no…  
Harry blushed and tried to retreat unnoticed but it was too late, Dracos head already snapped around and glared at him.  
„Mind giving me some privacy, Potter? I don’t fancy being stalked while peeing.“  
Dracos tone was angry but when he saw Harrys embarrassed face he couldn’t help but to smile a little when he pulled his zipper up and turned around to face Harry.  
„Sorry, I guess. Just wanted to check if you were still around.“  
„It’s your lucky day then I assume, it’s not like I could actually go anywhere even if I wanted to. We’re in a forest in the middle of goddamn nowhere and I don’t even have my wand.“  
With that he came walking back towards the tent.  
At the same time Shadowfax came outside too, stretching his Wings to their full extent and also raising his head as far up into the air as possible, his bright white eyes glaring at the two boys in front of him.  
„Help!“ Draco flinched and jumped behind Harry.  
And that was when Harry started laughing. Laughing like he didn’t remember laughing in ages. It was just too hilarious seeing Malfoy scare from a peaceful creature like this. Harry just couldn’t stop himself, tears already forming in his eyes. His stomach startet hurting and his legs gave in letting him fall to the ground, still not able to stop laughing.  
After having processed his shock Malfoys expression grew sour as he watched Harry Potter laughing himself crazy on the ground about Dracos fear. Even the damn Pegasus seemed to be amused, even if he had folded up his wings by now and lowered his head in a less intimidating manner. Draco wouldn’t put it past the cunning animal that he scared him on purpose.  
After Harry finally stopped laughing he smiled up at Draco genuinely.  
„Sorry“ he said, although he didn’t look particularly sorry.  
Draco just rolled his eyes.  
„So… - what’s your damn plan now savior? Are we going to ride into the bloody sunset with that nasty Pegasus of yours?“  
Draco hadn’t even finished the sneering question when Shadowfax lifted his front hooves up, rearing towards Draco. With his mouth open Draco fell on his butt into the grass next to Harry.  
„His name is Shadowfax“, Harry said „And you’d be better off being nice to him. He doesn’t seem to be handling your insults as calm as I do.“  
„Alright okay, sorry… Shadowfax.“ Draco offered and the thestral seemed to think it was good enough for now.  
„Let’s just look for some food for now, I’m starving.“, Harry suggested and Dracos empty stomach didn’t seem to protest.  
They left Shadowfax grazing on the field next to the tent while the both of them headed into the forest to find something edible. To Harrys surprise Draco was not only gifted at finding berries but also knew which mushrooms to eat.  
„If you payed a little more attention in potions, Potter, you’d know what to look for out“, Draco said proudly.  
After they found a decent amount of mushrooms and some more herbs and berries they returned to their camp. Harry pulled out his wand.  
„Accio wood!“ he said and a pile of dry wood came to rest in front of them. He used ‚Incendio‘ to light a fire and Draco took charge of preparing a decent breakfast.  
The food was actually pretty good. When they finished everything there was a weird silence. Like none of them knew what to say.  
„Do you think we should go back to Hogwarts?“ Harry asked Draco. He could see the blonde boys face go pale, his eyes indicating discomfort.  
„Not yet. Please. Not just yet“ Draco whispered, his grey eyes drifting far away.  
„It’s alright, we should give it a few days to give Dumbledore time to sort things out there. He must have seen us escape with Shadowfax so he won’t be too worried.“  
Draco had to swallow a guilty clump down his throat as Harry mentioned the headmaster. Would Dumbledore even allow Draco to return to Hogwarts after what he did? After what he almost did? He didn’t know an answer to that, but he assumed the old fool wouldn’t be his biggest problem if they decided to go back. No, the fact that he failed the task he was given by the Dark Lord himself was a much bigger concern. But Draco didn’t want to deal with any of it right now. He couldn’t help but to feel relieved over the fact that Harry took the decision from him yesterday, that he stopped Draco from having to kill someone. He’d never admit it out loud, but the way Harry allowed him physical comfort yesterday was a greater relief than anything Draco could have wished for. It was the first time someone had hugged him in his sleep and the first time Draco had actually felt save after a long period of restless nights filled with haunting nightmares. So it was just fine by Draco if he could have a day or two just being able to blend everything out and seek comfort in his enemies presence. That‘s what Harry Potter was after all, his enemy. He had to be. And Draco felt weak for letting himself go, for not maintaining his pride. But all he wanted right now was to forget what they fled from. Forget whom they were running from.  
Harry teared Draco out of his thoughts by making a suggestive gesture to get up.  
„We have to get moving and search for some drinking water.“  
Draco nodded in agreement. They decided it was best if they erased their tracks in case the Death Eaters followed them.  
After they finished demolishing the camp from last night and scattered the remainders of the fire, they started heading down the clearing, letting Shadowfax lead the way, hoping his instincts would lead him to find water.  
~  
„My legs hurt, Potter, I’m not used to walking this far at a pace like this“ Malfoy complained after a three hour walk.  
Harry turned around to see Draco actually falling behind.  
Shadowfax came to a halt too and stumped his hoof into the ground impatiently. He let out a little neigh and looked at Harry expectantly. The thestral seemed in excellent condition after his long sleep and he was obviously full of energy.  
Harry looked into his white eyes confused.  
„What is it, Shadow?“  
The thestral bent down, obviously suggesting Harry to get up.  
„Are you sure?“  
Shadowfax answered with another encouraging neigh, so Harry climbed on his back. Immediately the thestral walked towards Draco whose eyes widened again seeing Harry sit on the huge thestral.  
„Come on up“ Harry said, reaching out his hand to Draco.  
„You can’t be serious“  
„You did it before. Or would you rather keep walking?“  
With a growl Draco took Harrys hand and let himself be dragged on Shadowfax back, sitting behind Harry just like yesterday.  
Shadowfax didn’t have the patience to wait anymore so he startet falling into a quick trot.  
Terrified by the impressing pace and the sudden heavy movement under him Draco gripped his hands onto Harrys hips for safety again. This felt different than yesterday when the thestral used his wings instead of his legs. Yesterday it was a soft swinging motion but todays quick trot on the ground had Draco jumping up and down. Harry sat somewhat more relaxed holding on to the thestrals mane.  
Shadowfax didn’t seem to care about the additional weight on him as he trotted away happily.  
„Can’t he fly again?!“ Draco asked Harry in hope of getting rid of the awkward feeling of the trot.  
„I’m sure he could but have you looked at the weather lately? The sun is shining bright and there‘s not even a cloud in sight, so if some of your… friends… are looking for us they’d see us flying with a huge thestral like Shadowfax from who knows how many miles away“, Harry responded. „You don’t want them to find us, do you?“  
An unpleasant thought crept his way into Harrys head. Could it be possible for Draco to be wanting to be found by Death Eaters?  
„Of fucking course not“, Draco mumbled.  
And Harry left it at that. Draco didn’t have his wand and he seemed to be somewhat even grateful to Harry, so Harry didn’t see the sense in prying any further into Dracos thoughts.  
~  
After another hour or so the thestral came to an abrupt halt, slamming Dracos body against Harrys.  
„What is it, Shadow? Did you find water?“  
A confirmatory neigh escaped Shadows jaws and Harry looked a little harder but didn’t see anything so he closed his eyes instead. Yeah, he could hear a river run somewhere near. With an excited jump Shadowfax fell into a light canter and Dracos grip on Harrys hip tightened once again.  
„I think I’m feeling sick, Harry“ he said weakly against Harrys ear.  
Before Harry could react they had already reached the riverside and the thestral stopped and bowed down again for them to slide off his back. Draco rather fell off instead, towing Harry along.  
Draco could only move a few inches away on all fours before he threw up wholeheartedly.  
Shadowfax cast an offended glance at Draco.  
„Thanks again Shadow, for carrying us. Don’t mind Draco, he just isn’t used to it.“  
With that the thestral strode towards the water to drink and roam around feeding on grass again after.  
Harrys attention returned to Draco who stopped purging by now but still looked a little bit green in the face.  
A little smile built on Harrys face  
„Didn’t fancy the ride?“  
„Sod off, Potter“, came the lame reply.  
Harry decided to prepare their camp for tonight. He chose a place a few meters away from the river, just under a huge tree. He summoned some wood and branches and busied himself building a little cabin, just like yesterday. It was again around three meters high and roughly large enough to fit the three of them inside. This time though Harry put in the effort of disguising the cabin a little, putting some delusion charms over it so it wouldn’t be as visible and obvious as the last one. When he was confident about the cabin he prepared the firewood in front of it for later.  
„Coming to look for something to eat for dinner?“ Harry shouted the question to Draco who still hadn’t left the spot next to the river where he threw up earlier.  
Draco got up groaning, „I can’t even move, Potter, my arse fucking hurts.“ With that he heaved himself next to the cabin and sat down again. „Fish would be nice.“  
Harry rolled his eyes but he had to agree a fish would definitely beat another meal of mushrooms.  
He thought about trying to Accio the fish but even if it worked it wouldn’t be any fun. So he found himself a stick with a pointy end and started stripping down to his briefs.  
„What in Merlins beard are you doing, Potter?!“ Draco squeaked blushing, too dumbstruck to turn his face away from Harrys almost naked form.  
„I’m going to catch your majesty a fish“, Harry shrugged. „I might as well get a shower while doing it“, he said before he walked towards the river.  
Draco couldn’t stop himself from acknowledging Harrys defined backside. His spine shone threw the skin but his shoulderblades seemed wide and strong, his hip small and delicate. Draco couldn’t stop himself from blushing, why did he even bother?  
Harry was having the time of his life plunging in the water, swimming as soon as it was deep enough. When he felt he was as clean as he would get he gripped the stick from earlier and was happy to see the water was shallow enough for him to see the fish swimming there. Actually catching them wasn’t as easy though. That didn’t stop Harry from trying and it was a full 45 minutes later when he stopped to have a break.  
Draco was watching everything with amusement, while Shadowfax seemed a little annoyed by Harry disturbing the silence with his attempts to catch the fish with his stick. The large thestral stood next to Harry, fixated the surface of the water for a bit before his head shot down coming up with a huge fish in his mouth. He let the fish fall onto dry ground and walked away to look for fresh grass again.  
„Thanks!“ Harry yelled after him.  
He grabbed the fish, walked up to Draco and let it fall into his lap.  
„Here, I caught it, you’ll cook.“  
„Technically you didn’t catch it, the horse did. Isn’t he supposed to be a herbivore by the way?“  
„If you had payed more attention to Hagrid in class you’d know that thestrals actually can feed off both meat and plants just like us. Shadowfax just seems to prefer grass over meat. Which I would say could count as an advantage seeing you two don’t get along all that nicely yet“, Harry grinned.  
Draco flinched a bit at the thought of the thestral might being interested in his precious flesh. Anyway he agreed to preparing the huge fish for them. He bossed Harry around, describing to him which herbs he needed to find to make a meal. When they had everything together and got the fire going it was already sunset.  
They ate together in peace, watching the sun disappear behind the trees behind the calm river.  
„That was good“ Harry said happily, the fish was big enough to fill both of their stomachs and Malfoy managed to make it taste marvelously.  
„Yeah… “, Draco yawned.  
To Harrys amusement Shadowfax also yawned, being the first to walk into the cabin, curling himself up on the ground and tucking his head under one of his wings.  
The two boys sat by the fire for another while until it was dark and Harry had trouble keeping his eyes open.  
„That was an unusual day.“  
„Congrats for stating the obvious, Potter. The word unusual is an understatement.“  
Harry grunted. „I think we’ll rest here tomorrow as well. The day after we should be safe to go back home.“  
Without waiting for Dracos reaction he entered the cabin, which was padded out once again with soft moss. Harry briefly considered choosing the other side of the small room to lay down just to see if Malfoy would have it in him to lay next to Shadowfax. The thought put a smile on Harrys lips but he decided against it, not wanting to be woken up by a screaming Draco because he had a nightmare about being eaten by a thestral. It appeared Shadowfax was already fast asleep when Harry made himself comfortable next to him.  
Shortly after, Harry heard Draco enter the room and groaning when he got down. His body must still be hurting from all the walking and riding today.  
„You okay?“, Harry asked quietly.  
„If okay includes my thighs and arse hurting like crazy then yes, I’m okay, Potter, thanks for asking“ the blonde boy snapped.  
„You’ll get used to it.“  
„I don’t even want to. How did you get used to trotting on a goddamn horse!?“  
„I spent some more time with the thestrals than the others in class. After Sirius died I felt like they were the only ones to understand me so I visited them regularly during fith year and they took me on rides through the forbidden forests.“  
„Oh“ Draco hadn’t expected an honest answer like that but nevertheless he felt somehow grateful that Harry trusted him with this.  
„Are you cold?“ Harry asked, being the gentleman he always was.  
Draco pondered for a moment. He wasn’t exactly freezing like yesterday, the fire warmed him up alright, but he wouldn’t mind physical comfort.  
Harry interpreted Dracos silence correctly and offered „You can come here, if you want.“  
Harry was already as close as possible to the thestral so if Draco wanted their warmth he needed to get closer himself.  
Draco shouldn’t, he told himself. He should keep the rest of his dignity and resist basically cuddling up to his enemy and his pet.  
But it wasn’t as if anyone would ever find out, was it?  
So Draco deliberately rolled around so his back was aligned with Harrys side.  
Shadowfax let out a deep breath and naturally put his wing over them as a protective blanket again.  
There was moonlight shining through the roof again so Harry was able to see Malfoys hair shining next to him.  
„Sleeping yet?“  
Draco turned around.  
„No.“  
„You know, Malfoy – maybe you aren’t as purely evil as I used to think.“  
„Don’t be a fool Potter. Trust your instincts.“  
Draco lifted one hand up to close it around Harrys throat, placing his fingers exactly on Harrys windpipe. He pressed down for a moment to make his point.  
„What, are you going to choke me?“, Harry raised his eyebrow at Malfoy.  
„I could“, Draco replied, not moving his hand.  
Harry couldn’t help but realize that nothing of this situation made him think about defending himself. A part of him trusted Draco not to hurt him, even if he was physically able to. So Harry just lay there, waiting for Dracos actions to lead to the point.  
„You have no idea what I could do to have you be killed in an instant“, Malfoy continued.  
„Do you want to?“  
Draco removed his hand from Harrys throat, putting it on his chest, exactly over the boys beating heart instead.  
„There was a time when I did.“  
Harry couldn’t explain why his body reacted the way it did but he slung his arms around Draco again, holding him to his chest.  
Like that they fell into another blissful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the Drarry fic 'Eclipse' by Mijan, which is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion.  
> Also the title is from the same called song 'Arcade' by Duncan Laurence.
> 
> If you'd like to see it continued let me know :)  
> Either way, thanks for reading!


End file.
